Consumer Psychology Guide

Product Development Manager - The Career

Companies constantly look to introduce the “next big thing” into the marketplace. No matter what products they create, businesses understand the need for vision and imagination in the product development cycle.

Product development managers lead these efforts, taking market research and coming up with new, high-quality products that drive sales figures for a company. Read on to discover how product development managers work with development teams to create exactly what their customers want.

What do they do?

Product development managers investigate, design, and assess products they brainstorm for a company. These professionals coordinate all stages of product development, from initial concept art, to finalization and distribution.

When a company needs a new product to shake up the market, they turn to product development managers who assess gaps in the marketplace and find niches to market new products to. Working with market researchers, they identify how to reflect a brand's attributes in a new product, ensuring customer value and satisfaction with that product.

Location and Opportunity

Accordng to Indeed.com, several companies across the nation are hiring product development managers, including businesses in the following locations:

New York, NY

Houston, TX

San Francisco, CA

Chicago, IL

Atlanta, GA

Throughout the development cycle, they manage customer opinion of a product, testing the product in focus groups and receiving feedback. They then work with teams of other developers to adjust the product's design until they reach perfection. Some other professionals they work with include:

Qualifications

Product development managers spend several years in lower-level product development roles before taking on leadership positions. This gives them the experience needed to translate market research into tangible product development decisions.

Most product development managers earn at least bachelor's degrees in marketing before entering the field, though some others go on to earn master's degrees. Job requirements for the position will vary company by company, though many value higher-level degrees.

Become a Product Development Manager

In 2012, the average product development managers earned about $106,000 a year, with some earning even higher. Depending on experience and effectiveness, product development managers could earn above $130,000.

The marketplace is ever-changing, and rewards companies who take big risks in developing new products.